Makeup

Every day she would sit at her vanity to apply her makeup before leaving the house. It was a regular daily ritual that she rarely gave much thought: it was as routine as brushing her teeth. But at the root of it, she was obsessed with her face and making it look as flawless and perfect as possible. Washing, moisturizing, primer, foundation, highlighter, blush, eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, false lashes, lip liner, lipstick, and lip gloss. This ritual would cost her 45 minutes of her morning every single day, but for her it was a small amount of time dedicated to making sure she looked her most beautiful. 

At the end of the day when she washed it all off, she rarely recognized the face looking back at her and didn’t really like it much. She was never satisfied with her own face, so she often spent a small fortune on the best beauty products on the market. Collagen fillers, BB creams, exfoliants, concealers, all the eyeshadow colors one woman can imagine owning, a variety of brushes, lip colors, and applicators. It was almost religious for her, how dedicated she was. She needed rehab but wouldn’t have a clue how to get help. 

This morning was the same as all the others, she woke, showered, and sat at her vanity to apply her face. She was excited as usual, because she always had something new to use. Today she would try this new foundation she picked up at the high end department store she favored. This new foundation was so creamy during the instore sampling, she couldn’t wait to put it on her face. As she used her applicator to spread this new liquid skin, she was beside herself with glee at how smoothly it was applied and how much it matched her own skin tone. This foundation was so creamy and luscious, how she ever got by without this in her collection was beyond her. 

As she finished putting her foundation on, she noticed a bit of a tingle, which was unusual for foundation. Foundation does not tingle. She figured it must be the anti-aging feature in the makeup and disregarded the strange sensation. However, as she was applying her blush, the tingle increased to the point of feeling like a burning sensation. What the fuck was happening? The burning feeling increased, and in a hurried movement she ran towards the sink to run cool water on her face. The cool water did not help, when she lifted her face out of the sink and looked at her reflection, her skin had red splotches on it that looked like burn scars. The burning feeling wouldn’t stop, her skin started to get boils from this burning. In a panic she ran to the kitchen to grab some ice hoping for some relief, but that did not work either. 

Screaming, she began rubbing her face on a towel which only worsened the problem. Why was this happening? She had no idea, but the burning wouldn’t stop. 

She laid on the floor in agony screaming and wailing in pain, her skin peeling off her face onto the floor slimy and burned. She didn’t know what was worse, the burning of her skin, or being found on the floor in such an ugly state?